Book Reviews from 2015: Pt. 2
I didn't do a reading review in 2014, primarily because of time, and I wasn't blogging much in Dec. 2014/Jan. 2015. This time, I'm reallyi trying to blog at least once a week. So, I'm dividing my lists into 3 sections:
Military History
Spiritual/Leadership Growth
Brain Candy
Most of my reviews are a few sentences in length, but, as you might expect since I didn't blog much at the beginning of 2015, either, my reviews for books I read during that time are rather short, too.
So, without further ado, here's today's reviews of Spiritual/Leadership Growth.
1)Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire (by Jim Cymbala & Dean Merrill) - Putting the Holy Spirit, Prayer, and doing things God's way first in your life and the life of the church. This is my first of several repeat reads. Pastor Cymbala somehow (God's Spirit?!) is able to speak to things with power and authority that we need to hear. *
2)The Way of the Wild Heart (by John Eldredge) - Excellent book about what it means to become a man of God. This is an extension of his first book, Wild At Heart. *
3)The Mission, The Men, and Me (by Pete Blaber) - While it's selling point was the subtitle, "Lessons From A Former Delta Force Commander," implying it was another book about US Special Operations, this book is really a leadership book. There are some great lessons learned from the stories Mr. Blaber tells, beginning way back in the 90's through the winter of 2002 in Afghanistan, and Operation Anaconda. The lessons are excellent, though I think I took more away from "The Trident." There is significantly less profanity than most military books, showing more professionalism in writing, in my opinion. I give this book , but I don't think I'll be putting this on my "To buy" list. It's lacking the emotional connection that "The Trident" had. It's a 4-star book, but a different kind of 4-star.
4)They Smell Like Sheep (by Dr. Lynn Anderson) - A fantastic book on pastoring. This is my second time reading this book, and well worth a second look... or even a third. .5
5)Under the Unpredictable Plant (by Eugene Peterson) - One of my favorite books on pastoring, this is a Pastor Peterson's look at what pastors can learn from Jonah. Great lessons here. I found myself learning things, and relearning things. Again, another repeat read, but worth it. .5
6)The Speed of Trust (by Stephen M.R. Covey) - This is a phenomenal book! It rocked my world, making me realize - or maybe admit would be a better word - how imperfect is - how much work I've still got to do on - my integrity as a man of God. However, he doesn't stop there. He makes the case for why trust and integrity are actually important to business and other types of relationships - beyond the obvious fact that friendships are based on trust; a case for the idea that trust is actually a measurable commodity; how to build up trust from a starting point, and what to do if trust is broken - by the reader, or against the reader. It's an excellent book, though really only useful if one is willing to be honest with one's self. I was, and it struck me right between the eyes in terms of where I still need God to transform my heart and the way I love others. *
7)The Signature of Jesus (By Brennan Manning) - Brennan once again does an excellent job of communicating the grace of God, while calling us to worship Him with our lives rather than just our words. Probably my biggest take-away, though not my only one by far, was to keep my focus on Christ - in worship, prayer, trust... Everything. A good, convicting book that I've read a second time now.
Military History
Spiritual/Leadership Growth
Brain Candy
Most of my reviews are a few sentences in length, but, as you might expect since I didn't blog much at the beginning of 2015, either, my reviews for books I read during that time are rather short, too.
So, without further ado, here's today's reviews of Spiritual/Leadership Growth.
1)Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire (by Jim Cymbala & Dean Merrill) - Putting the Holy Spirit, Prayer, and doing things God's way first in your life and the life of the church. This is my first of several repeat reads. Pastor Cymbala somehow (God's Spirit?!) is able to speak to things with power and authority that we need to hear. *
2)The Way of the Wild Heart (by John Eldredge) - Excellent book about what it means to become a man of God. This is an extension of his first book, Wild At Heart. *
3)The Mission, The Men, and Me (by Pete Blaber) - While it's selling point was the subtitle, "Lessons From A Former Delta Force Commander," implying it was another book about US Special Operations, this book is really a leadership book. There are some great lessons learned from the stories Mr. Blaber tells, beginning way back in the 90's through the winter of 2002 in Afghanistan, and Operation Anaconda. The lessons are excellent, though I think I took more away from "The Trident." There is significantly less profanity than most military books, showing more professionalism in writing, in my opinion. I give this book , but I don't think I'll be putting this on my "To buy" list. It's lacking the emotional connection that "The Trident" had. It's a 4-star book, but a different kind of 4-star.
4)They Smell Like Sheep (by Dr. Lynn Anderson) - A fantastic book on pastoring. This is my second time reading this book, and well worth a second look... or even a third. .5
5)Under the Unpredictable Plant (by Eugene Peterson) - One of my favorite books on pastoring, this is a Pastor Peterson's look at what pastors can learn from Jonah. Great lessons here. I found myself learning things, and relearning things. Again, another repeat read, but worth it. .5
6)The Speed of Trust (by Stephen M.R. Covey) - This is a phenomenal book! It rocked my world, making me realize - or maybe admit would be a better word - how imperfect is - how much work I've still got to do on - my integrity as a man of God. However, he doesn't stop there. He makes the case for why trust and integrity are actually important to business and other types of relationships - beyond the obvious fact that friendships are based on trust; a case for the idea that trust is actually a measurable commodity; how to build up trust from a starting point, and what to do if trust is broken - by the reader, or against the reader. It's an excellent book, though really only useful if one is willing to be honest with one's self. I was, and it struck me right between the eyes in terms of where I still need God to transform my heart and the way I love others. *
7)The Signature of Jesus (By Brennan Manning) - Brennan once again does an excellent job of communicating the grace of God, while calling us to worship Him with our lives rather than just our words. Probably my biggest take-away, though not my only one by far, was to keep my focus on Christ - in worship, prayer, trust... Everything. A good, convicting book that I've read a second time now.
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Labels: Book Reviews, Leadership, Personal, Theology
posted by Pastor Paul at
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